6 from UC Davis elected to the American Association for the Advacement of Science

By Dateline staff

Walter Leal, professor and former chair of the Department of Entomology, recently received honors from Britain and his native Brazil.

From Britain comes his election as a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, joining the ranks of such scientists as Charles Darwin.

Leal, a chemical ecologist, examines how insects detect smells, communicate with their species, detect host and nonhost plants, and detect prey.

From Brazil comes the National Award of Chemical Ecology, an award that memorializes Leal's former mentor, Professor Jose Tercio Barbosa.

The Brazilian award came with a unique prize: 104-year-old architect Oscar Niemeyer’s autograph in a book about one of his projects, the Contemporary Art Museum of Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janiero. Niemeyer, a pioneer of modern architecture, also designed many other public buildings in his native Brazil, as well as the U.N. headquarters in New York City.

“I grew up hearing about the wonderful work of Oscar Niemeyer, but never even imagined that one day I would get his autograph," Leal said. “Niemeyer is one of the two most famous contemporary Brazilians. The other is Pelé, whom I’ve known since my years of working as a radio sportscaster to help fund my college education.”

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More good fellows:

Nicholas Curro, associate professor of physics, elected a fellow of the American Physical Society for his research on nuclear magnetic resonance and superconducting materials.

Professor Anne Schilling and Associate Professor Dan Romik of the Department of Mathematics, named Simons Fellows in Mathematics. Each fellowship from the Simons Foundation provides about $50,000 in support for one semester of a sabbatical.

Professors Kai Liu and Rajiv Singh of the Department of Physics, invited to become fellows of the Institute of Physics. Eligibility is extended to each member who has made significant contributions to the profession, either directly through his or her work, or by supporting the development or promotion of physics.

Also, Liu is one of eight newly elected members of the volunteer management board of the IEEE Magnetics Society, the premier organization for professionals in magnetics research and technology worldwide.

Donna Erberhart-Phillips, professor of geology, elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, in recognition of her work in the development and application of three-dimensional seismic tomography codes — the earthquake wave equivalent of a CAT scan in medicine.

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Nancy E. Lane went from undergraduate at UC Davis (B.S. ’76) to professor and physician in the School of Medicine and the UC Davis Health System (after receiving her M.D. at UC San Francisco in 1980).

And not just any physician. This internationally known expert in the science and care of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis recently received “mastership” status from the American College of Physicians.

“Dr. Lane truly exemplifies a ‘master’ physician, and she is an outstanding role model for those committed to creating a healthier world,” said Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine.

The rigorously competitive “mastership” process starts with nominations, after which the awards committee considers each nominee’s strength of character, integrity, perseverance, compassion and steadiness, as well as clinical competence. The committee also evaluates each nominee’s mentor service, as well as his or her advocacy for quality in medicine, commitment to social justice and the creation of communities of medicine.

Lane, professor of internal medicine and rheumatology, holds the Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging and Geriatric Medicine, serves as director of the Center for Healthy Aging and leads the Musculoskeletal Diseases of Aging Research Group.

She pays particular attention to the causes and effects of osteoporosis and osteoarthritis in older women. In addition, she is co-principal investigator on a translational research project that is exploring new tools for predicting and preventing osteoarthritis in young people, and improving care and outcomes for adults suffering from the disease.

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Associate Professor Laurie San Martin, who teaches music theory and composition, recently received two prestigious commissions: to compose works for the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University.

• SF Contemporary Music Players — San Martin’s commission is one of 10 for the 2014-15 season. The commissions call for pieces 18 to 25 minutes long, for five to nine players.

• Fromm Music Foundation — San Martin joined 11 others in receiving 2011 commissions, one of the principal ways by which the foundation works to strengthen composition and to bring contemporary concert music closer to the public.

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Larry Bogad, associate professor of theatre and dance, has been named founding director of the Center for Artistic Activism’s new West Coast branch. Based in Berkeley, the branch contributes “its own unique focus on performance and playful theatrics for social movement organizing,” a news release states.

An activist, author and performer, Bogad is a 20-year veteran of guerrilla theatre and performance art and has collaborated with some of the field’s most respected artists and activists. He is known for making “activism artistic,” according to the news release.

He has worked extensively with other U.S. universities and leads tactical performance workshops with activists involved in revolutionary projects, most recently in Cairo; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Bogad also writes widely for activist and academic journals, produced the documentary Radical Ridicule: Serious Play and the Republican National Convention, and is the author of the book Electoral Guerrilla Theatre: Radical Ridicule and Social Movements.

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Finalists for the 2011 ConocoPhillips Energy Prize included chemistry professor Mark Mascal’s paper on converting plant carbohydrates into biofuels and petroleum substitutes. As the second runner-up, he earned a $50,000 award.

The ConocoPhillips Energy Prize, a joint initiative of ConocoPhillips and Penn State, recognizes new ideas and original, actionable solutions that can help improve the way in which the United States develops and uses energy.

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Dateline UC Davis welcomes news of faculty and staff awards, for publication in Laurels. Send information to dateline@ucdavis.edu.